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the name. The person called on must then guess the name and take his place before the school to tell of another man. If he fails in either of the two requirements, he must join the other side, or be "out." The side having most pupils when the time is up wins the game.

I have found this a great help in Language as well as History. "Practice makes perfect," and after appearing before the whole school with such a story, the pupil will talk much more freely in reproducing stories before his class. They get many stories from History in this way that they would not get if done in regular class periods, for they know that they are responsible for their neighbor's story as well as their own, in that they must guess correctly before they get an opportunity to tell their own story.

As they are allowed to talk of prominent men of today as well as those of the past, it sends them to the newspapers for material. This alone is worth a great deal for the sooner the "newspaper habit" is formed, the better.

Ida Opperud, Westby, Wis.

of the meadow; another the plant life, and flowers of field or grove. The aim may bear more upon the subject of geography and take them to some spot where the pupils may find an answer to the question, how soils are made, and may collect different kinds of soil; or to see what the last heavy rain did, or what the brook is doing.

The more the teacher can see for herself, the more inspiring guide she will be; but she must not think that a wide knowledge of botany, zoology, entomology, and geology is necessary in order that she may make a start with the subject of nature study. Let her once get the right attitude of mind and begin, and she will be astonished at the progress both she and her pupils will make. The first element in this right attitude of mind is love of nature.

NATURE STUDY A STUDY OF NATURE.

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MARY D. BRADFORD.

If nature study is to succeed, we must be sure that it is really a study of nature. This study demands the out-of-doors. It is the life right around them and the facts of the inorganic world right around them that children are most interested in knowing about.

Some of this life, and some of this inorganic nature can be brought into the schoolroom; but the larger part of it must be studied in the ideal nature-study laboratory-the great out-of-doors. There is no substitute for it, nothing that equals it in affording children the opportunity to get knowledge first hand, that is, to learn through their own

senses.

To be succcessful, a field lesson must have a definite aim and be as carefully planned as any other school exercise. The teacher must know where she is going, and should have been over the ground so as to know definitely the objects of interest the field she has chosen will be likely to yield. One day she and her little flock start out with the express purpose of studying birds; another they are to find out about the insect life of the hillside or

L.R S.

A field lesson must be followed the next day by a discussion of what was seen. The questions asked and problems put to the pupils before starting out, should be brought up, and pupils should be encouraged to report further discovery or inference. When answers are given which are doubtful or disputed, it is the teacher's business to send the pupils back to nature to verify their statements. It is likewise her business to amplify the knowledge of pupils upon points beyond their reach, when previous study has given them the means for understanding what she gives.

After the discussion comes the written report. In these reports there are certain qualities that should be striven for :

First, They should show individuality and independence. The premium should be put on first

hand knowledge. If the pupil uses information gained from another, it should be so quoted.

Second, Have pupils feel the necessity for absolute truthfulness and accuracy. Every statement should be something that he knows because he has used his own senses in finding the truth which he states.

Third, The written report should be orderly and neat.

A teacher once went to Liberty H. Bailey, the celebrated nature enthusiast of Cornell University, and asked him where he should begin with nature work. This teacher said that he had been considering the matter for two or three years, but didn't know how to undertake it. Mr. Bailey's reply was: "Begin! Head end, tail end, in the middle -but begin! There are two essential epochs in any enterprise-to begin and to get done."

SOME NOTES ON TEACHING.

PROFESSOR G. C. SHUTTS, WHITEWATER.

A student wrote the other day in commenting upon the work done before the Observation Class: "The work was good because the teacher caused the children to visualize the things taught. When I went to school I simply committed the lessons to memory whether I understood them or not." I fear this confession is the statement of a fact that is too common in our schools today, though so much has been done of late years to eradicate it. The teacher should welcome any plan that compels the pupil upon his own responsibility to determine the meaning of a statement and show to others its truth.

In the early work in Reading, to act out a command or to "make true" a statement found in the reader, and to dramatize a story are some of the more common means to accomplish it. The main point to be observed is to make sure in some way that the imagination of the pupil lays hold upon the matter in question and presents a vivid picture of the reality to him. I think this is sometimes hindered by the very means taken to accomplish it. It is thought that working with objects will insure this. But the objects should be gotten rid of as soon as possible, and the pupil required to carry on the process by means of his imagination. If the teacher can appeal to the pupil's experience in such a way as to make him, by his imagination, build up in mind the notion required and then de

scribe it, he has accomplished more than if the notion had been acquired directly from a physical representation.

In Arithmetic, the concrete problem gives the pupil an opportunity to image the conditions of the problem and relate them in the solution. To get the best results in thinking, practical problems with little or no similarity should be given, so that the pupil must depend upon understanding the conditions of the problem by reading it if he would gain the solution.

The subject of mensuration, if well handled, is a fertile one for thought development. To illustrate by the development of the rule for finding volume of a rectangular solid: The pupil should be made to appreciate that his problem is to determine the number of cubic units in a given solid and state clearly how to do it. Let him build a rectangular pile of inch cubes, count them and express the volume. Next, take the problem to find the volume of an imaginary pile of inch cubes, 3 by 4 by 5. Let the pupil tell what he would do to build up the solid. He must mentally see and express the fact that he would lay a row, say, of 5 cubes; then another row, and another row, and another until, say, 4 rows are laid. When a second layer must be placed upon this one and a third. The building it in his mind and describing it, is the valuable process, but originally the blocks had to be handled to give material for the imagination to feed upon. Next, let the child abbreviate his counting by reasoning from the 4 rows with 5 in each row to the number in the layer, then from the three layers with 20 cubes in each layer to the volume of the solid. Now give him a rectangular solid, say a crayon box, and a ruler and let him make measurements and determine volume. If he is held to the order of thinking in the previous work, he will see that he must measure one edge, or dimension, to determine the number of cubes in one row; another dimension to determine the number of rows in one layer, and the other dimension to determine the number of layers. If the pupil is led to use the cube as the unit of his thought until he comes to see the need of measuring the dimensions and multiplying as a short process of counting the cubic units, he will fully appreciate the process, and will have no tendency to say things that do not, and possibly can not, have any meaning.

Rational work awakens interest and is a condition of true progress. Later symbols may truly stand for truths, but in the Elementary Schools the crying need is to furnish material for the imagination and to see to it that the imaging process is carried out in all work in which it is involved. The field for this kind of work is Reading, Geography, History, Applied Arithmetic, Civil Government, etc. Rote work in which success lies in reduction to the automatic, as Penmanship, pure Arithmetic, etc., is more or less an exception.

A PRIME AND COMPOSITE NUMBER CHART.

The Manual of the Course of Study suggests that pupils be drilled on the composite and prime numbers up to 100 so that they will know the prime numbers at once and be able to factor the composites at a glance. To help in the recognition of prime and composite numbers the teacher may make a drill chart as follows:

dition of the sky and direction of the wind; and in the fourth, the amount of wind. Label the fifth column "Rain or Snow"; the sixth, "Beginning or ending of rain or snow"; the seventh, "Amount of rain or snow"; and the eighth, "Dew or frost." In the ninth column record the length of day; and in the tenth, the phases of the moon. To make the calendar as graphic as possible, use the conventional characters to represent the various phases of the moon, a circle, either clear or partly clouded, to represent the condition of the sky, and an arrow to indicate the direction of the wind. Let the pupils take turns securing the data. Make one of these records for each month.

DORA B. THOMPSON.

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61 62 63

66

67 68

69

70

71 72 73

75 76 77 78

79

80

89 90

64 65 74 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

The light faced figures in the diagram represent the prime numbers and the heavy faced figures the composite numbers. Pupils can be drilled in a short time so that they will remember the primes up and down or left and right and they will soon become proficient in the chart so as to know at once whether a number is prime or composite. Pupils may then learn the factors of the composite. numbers, taking first those which are products of the multiplication table and then those which are not. C. B. STANLEY.

HOW TO MAKE A WEATHER CALENDAR. To make a weather calendar take a piece of white cardboard a little heavier than postal card weight and about 24 x 30 inches. Across the top draw some design appropriate for the month and. divide the remainder of the sheet into ten columns lengthwise, and crosswise into as many spaces as there are days in the month. In the first column write the dates; in the second, the thermometer readings at 8:30 and at 1:15; in the third, the con

Z.R.S.

THE DANDELION.
There's a dainty little fellow,
Who dresses all in yellow,

In yellow, with an overcoat of green;
With his hair all crisp and curly,
In the springtime bright and early
A-tripping o'er the meadow he is seen.
Through all the spring bright weather,
Like a jolly little tramp,

He wanders o'er the hillside, down the road
Around his yellow feather,
The gypsy fireflies camp;

His companions are the wood lark and the toad.
-Selected.

Is it true that second thoughts are best?
Not first, and third, which are a riper first?
Too ripe, too late! They come too late for use.

-Tennyson.

Department of Administration

The School Laws and their Interpretation
School Boards and their Problems
The State Department of Education

The meeting of the county superintendents at Madison on April 13-14-15, was a live one from start to finish as many educational bills now pending before the legislature were thoroughly discussed and some changes recommended which the superintendents thought would improve them. The bill before the legislature to abolish the present county superintendency and to substitute a county board of education who shall elect a superintendent, occupied most of the time of the association on Tuesday. For the second time the bill was approved by the county superintendents with six members dissenting. Other topics discussed related to the change proposed in the management of institutes and the new certification law. As a

result, some modifications have been made in the latter bill known as 794 A. Supt. S. C. Cushman of Columbia county was elected president of the association for the ensuing year.

In the suit of the school board of district No. 2

of Manitowoc against Miss Gertrude Paine for "contract jumping," the first case resulted in a victory for the defendant and another action has been brought against her by the board. This trouble grows out of the resignation of Miss Paine from one of the high schools in the city and the acceptance of a position in another school of the same place. This occured in the middle of the year. The outcome of the case will be watched with interest by the school boards of this state.

All school officers will be interested in one of the most important educational bills now pending before the legislature. This aims to do away with the present manner of electing a county superintendent by a direct vote of the people, having for its object the entire elimination of the office from partisan politics. The plan is to have a county board of education elected by the people and this board to choose a county superintendent, the same as a city superintendent of schools is now elected.

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The bill has many strong points in its favor. If it becomes a law it means that a county superintendent need not necessarily be chosen from his own county, but the board will be free to go outside and elect the best man or woman they can find for the position. It will give a professional standing to these officers which has never been accorded to them in the past. The bill has been endorsed by the state teachers' association and at two different meetings of the county superintendents of the state. Whether or not it will pass the present legislature can not be predicted at this time.

Recently a tri-county meeting of teachers was held at Kiel which embraced Calumet, Manitowoc

and Sheboygan counties. Rural School Inspector Larsen was present at this meeting and reports it one of the most successful he ever had the pleasure of attending. The interchange of ideas among the teachers of different counties is certainly a good idea for other county superintendents to adopt.

There is in this state what is known as the County Order of the Wisconsin Experiment Association, the membership being made up of the short course agricultural graduates of the State University, numbering about 1,600. The purpose

of this order is to further the work of the Madison school in carrying on original experiments in grain growing, the raising of poultry, cattle, etc. Manitowoc county has just organized such an order among the young men, and Fond du Lac and Dodge counties have already completed their or ganizations. It is planned to interest teachers and school board members in this movement for it means the bringing of the city boy back to the farm and the accomplishment of some of the principal objects toward which the introduction of the study of Agriculture in the public schools is aiming.

Miss Miriam Pearson of Milwaukee county has brought suit against school district No. 8, town of Greenfield, for damages alleged to be due because of a breach of contract on the part of the school board. She taught in this district for one year and was engaged for the following year but later received a letter saying that another teacher had been secured for the position. No doubt, if these facts can be established as claimed by Miss Pearson, the school board will be liable for any actual loss which she may have suffered as a result of their action.

WISCONSIN COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.*

Adams-John P. Lewis..
Ashland-W. J. Cordy.
Barron-L. P. Cheney.
Bayfield-Jessie N. Smith.
Brown J. Novitske...
Buffalo-H. J. Niehaus.
Burnett-Mabel Ahlstrom
Calumet-Leo P. Fox...
Chippewa-Alb. Brunstad.
Clark-A. O. Rhea....
Columbia-S. C. Cushman.
Crawford-Geo. Burton.

Dane, 1st dist.-Sylvanus Ames.
Dane, 2d dist.-Genie A. Laws.
Dodge-John Kelley.
Door-Arthur J. Smith.
Douglas-A. N. Young..
Dunn-Jennie M. Brackett.

Eau Claire-Theresa A. Leinenkugel.
Florence John Elmer......Iron Mt.,
Fond du Lac-Ruby M. Acker...
Forest-H. A. Kamm..
Grant-J. C. Brockert.
Green-J. Carl Penn.
Green Lake Geo. V. Kelley.
Iowa J. A. Van Natta...
Iron-Chas. D. Lennon.
Jackson-Orin D. Stiehl.
Jefferson-A. J. Thorne.
Juneau-Mattie McMillan.
Kenosha-J. J. Kerwin..
Kewaunee J. E. Sazama..

The changes in the county superintendencies are noted in another column in this issue. About onefourth of the counties show new officers, while many of the present incumbents had no opposition whatever. One of the most remarkable elections was that of Fond du Lac county where Miss Ruby M. Acker of Brandon won out by the small margin of two votes over Superintendent Crain, the present incumbent. Miss Acker made her campaign as being opposed to the establishment of a county training school. Superintendent La Crosse B. F. Oltman. Crain has called for a recount of the vote as many defective ballots were thrown out in the county.

STATE SUPERINTENDENT CARY RE-ELECTED.

At the spring election held on April 6, State Superintendent Charles P. Cary was elected to succeed himself by a plurality of some 10,000 votes over his nearest competitor, L. W. Wood. Supt. J. T. Hooper of Ashland and Prof. W. C. Hewitt of the Oshkosh normal school made third and fourth places respectively in the contest. Mr. Cary's new term begins July 1, and runs for four years.

The contest brought out only a small vote, as compared with the general election, which is to be regretted, only about one-third of the electorate showing in the final count. While the campaign had in it some of those annoying features which inevitably characterize any struggle for office, yet it is to the credit of the victors and the vanquished alike that no ill feeling is harbored because of the stand taken by different ones for their favorite candidates. Supt. Cary's past record is sufficient to assure justice to all, and he will find those who were interested in other candidates ever ready to support him in his untiring efforts to bring Wisconsin to the front rank in educational work.

Lafayette-W. G. Mase.
Langlade A. M. Arveson.
Lincoln-J. H. Hamlin..
Manitowoc-C. W. Meisnest.
Marathon-Wenzel Pivernitz.
Marinette R. C. Ramsay.
Marquette-J. H. Wheelock.
Milwaukee-Hugo A. Pauly
Monroe M. M. Haney..
Oconto Miss McDonald.
Oneida-F. A. Lowell.
Outagamie A. G. Meating.
Ozaukee-R. F. Beger..
Pepin

Pierce-0. M. Matson.
Polk-Sid Blanding..
Portage-Andrew P. Een.
Price May McNely...
Racine Geo. J. Zimmerman
Richland

Rock-0. D. Antisdell.
Rusk-W. N. Mackin.
St. Croix-H. A. Aune.
Sauk-G. W. Davies.
Sawyer-Effie M. Harrington.
Shawano-L. D. Roberts..
Sheboygan-Jos. E. Kennedy.
Taylor-Gordon B. Smith..
Trempealeau

Vernon-H. L. Gardner.
Vilas-Grant Cook..
Walworth-Helen Martin..
Washburn-Izzetta L. Sabean.
Washington-Frank Bucklin..
Waukesha-G. B. Rhoads..
Waupaca-W. E. Switzer.
Waushara-T. Thompson.

Winnebago-H. B. Patch.

Wood-Robert Morris....

.Friendship
Mellen
. Barron
Washburn
Green Bay

.. Alma

Grantsburg ...Chilton

. Chippewa Falls

.Thorp .Portage Eastman Stoughton .Black Earth ..Juneau

. Sturgeon Bay .Rockmont .Menomonie .Eau Claire Mich. R. No. 1. .Brandon .Crandon .Lancaster .. Monroe

. Princeton
.Dodgeville
.Hurley
.Taylor
Jefferson
.Mauston
.Silver Lake
Algoma

West Salem
.Darlington

Antigo
.Merrill

Manitowoc

...Wausau .Peshtigo Westfield .Milwaukee

. Glendale ..Oconto Woodruff

Appleton

Fredonia

.Ellsworth

St. Croix Falls

.Amherst

. Phillips .Union Grove

..Afton .Ladysmith

. Baldwin

North Freedom

. Hayward .Shawano .Plymouth Medford

Viroqua Eagle River Elkhorn .Shell Lake West Bend Waukesha .Clintonville

Wautoma

Oshkosh

...Arpin

*Those whose names are in italics are new superintendents elected April 6, to take office July 1, 1909.

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